Forbes' originally ran this video and it has since been picked up by Polygon and others:

Sunset TV advises reviewers not to use the phrase "Sunset Overhype" because it's lazy writing.

I don't know about you guys, but if I was Jeff or Brad and this flashed up while I was playing this game for review I'd be pretty irked by the idea of a kid half my age advising me on my diction. Even if he's probably right.

This video got me wondering whether publishers/developers are shooting themselves in the foot by telling writers how to do their job, or just ensuring writers come in with a preconceived notion about the quality of the experience they're about to have.

Do you think this is something we'll hear/see more of this generation? Or has this stuff always been going on and this is just the first time it has manifested inside the game?

I appreciate that Insomniac are trying to give their marketing some personality, but... goddamn is this guy annoying. The whole acting all self-aware shtick gives it the sense that they're trying a little too hard. As for the reviewer joke, it doesn't seem any worse than all of the other dumb stuff he was saying.

Got no sound on my work computer, but I really want to punch that guy just from watching his smug, over-emoting face. If I were a reviewer, I'd dock points for this shit. Patronizing.

Oh, Sunset Overdrive. You try so hard. I hope it's at least fun.

I hope that whatever user makes the review thread for this game uses the title "Sunset Overhype"

Cue all reviews of Sunset Overdrive using the phrase out of spite. Unless that was their plan all along. The GB review will need to include the phrase but also not include it just to make sure.

Eh. It's dumb but there's lots of dumb suggestions to reviewers (the evil within suggested playing on easy even though "normal" is the intended game experience according to the game itself).

Hardly a scandal. Just lame.

That's pretty much what I was gonna say. I doubt reviewers'll be shouting "damn kid in the video game box is trying to tell me what to do!!" In fact, I probably wouldn't have even considered that a possibility if the op hadn't suggested it. BUT...though I managed to get past the phrase "Sunset Overhype" with a bit of a cringe, at the mention of "pro-tips" I just had to pause the video and distance myself from it. Honestly, the whole "woah look at us, we're quirky and we've got an attitude" thing didn't really bother me much at first, but the more I see of this game's marketing the more grating I find it.

Doesn't bother me. I watched the 1st hour (on Gameinformer). Everything looks terrific. I'll be disappointed if it doesn't get good reviews and ends up being a disappointment because I'm pretty excited for it.

I guess we have to find stuff to nit-pick. I'm glad they are giving this game personality unlike their previous one.

If anything I find the actual commercial for the game to be far worse... where the character (in CGI form) is talking to you and says something like "Save the world? Of course is a f*cking video game!"... that was far more cringe-worthy.

I think it's kind of a funny idea but holy shit, I want to punch that guy in the face so bad.

I really do wonder how this game will do. I have no idea if the type of person that'd buy the Xbone over the PS4 wants a big, colourful game like this. Man, I'm super jealous that I can't play it... yet.I love the look of it, but there doesn't really seem to be any buzz surrounding this game. Maybe I'm wrong and there's a bunch of people literally about to burst with excitement for this game. As for the dude in the video... he's inoffensive *shrug* I dunno.

This is the first game in a while where I'm purely interested in the gameplay. All this stuff doesn't affect me because I was never really interested in the story or humor. Someone mentioned that this is like some weird alternate reality where the Dreamcast became the dominant system. And come to think of it, the color palette and focus on fun really does remind me of the DC. So that's wonderful.

All I know is the Resistance 3 guys are running this, and Resistance 3 was magnificent.

Seems like a pretty small throwaway joke, don't see anything for a reviewer to be intimidated by.

Don't worry Sunset Overguy, I won't be using that line at the end.

@yummylee: Yup, although posting a video with the caption "holy shit this guy sucks" probably wasn't worth the effort. Insomniac are trying way too hard to get back to the irreverence that naturally emerged from the tone of the Ratchet & Clank games, especially after Volition took that shtick to the next level with Saints Row 3 onwards.

I think it's a good introduction to Sunset TV. It doesn't exist yet, so they wanted to explain the feature for pre-release folx.

And yeah, "Sunset Overhype" is lazy writing. It's a joke. They're not being condescending.

I really hope every single review incorporates sunset overhype in the title now.

@jimipeppr: You know the best jokes are the ones where you have to say "it's a joke" for people to get that it's a joke.

It was a throwaway joke, no big deal.

Making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Ugh, the marketing for this game lays it on so incredibly thick. Never been a fan of the hubristic smart ass shtick.

It's a silly goof they shot because they probably wanted to have some kind of video in there prior to release, both for reviewers to see how the video system is going to work and, I'd guess, their own testing purposes. If anything, it just reminds me of the unit voices in the review version of Warcraft 2, some of which were replaced with silly begging for good reviews. This ain't a big deal.

(That said, if that's the tone they're going for in whatever their real videos are, I can't say I'd spend any time watching them.)

LOL. I totally remember this guy, he's still so annoying i see.

@zombie2011: You may be right, but it annoyed me and I'm not even reviewing the game. Maybe it's just indicative of the terrible tone Insomniac have adopted for the marketing of this game.

It's hardly the developers trying to tell reviewers how to do their jobs. The whole video seems more like some weird tutorial for reviewers and a preview of a feature they might not be able to try when they're reviewing the game.

Kinda annoying, but a Shadow of Mordor promo deal it ain't.

That choice nugget blew over without too much fuss didn't it? One Jimquisition's worth of uproar and the internet went back to shouting a destitute indie developers for befriending their way into positive coverage.

Yeah, I just saw it, and goddamn if that's not some fucked up shit. Those sort of deals seem to be more and more common, it's terrible.

If Jeff reviews it I predict a 3 out of 5 and use of the phrase somewhere just because he can. if Brad reviews it I predict a 4 out of 5 and he will NOT use it.

I hope it turns out good, I really do, but every single piece of marketing since the initial release has done nothing but cool me on it.

Indeed. Marketing efforts like this just make me less interested in a game.

"Sunset Overhype" sounds like something whiny internet turds would say just to trash on the game.

I don't necessarily approve of doing something like that but I think people are making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is.

It's shit like that that makes me laugh whenever someone posits that Youtube personalities have supplanted game journalists. Sure there are people out there who have taken up the mantle of editorial integrity but for the most part those guys and girls are desperate for views and subscribers and will sign on any dotted line to get them.

I hope this increases usage of the term Sunset Overhype over what it would have been if Insomiac just kept quiet.

Wow this really shows confidence in their game. It would be better if he told reviewers not to give perfect scores because it would make other games look bad or something equally as stupid. I'm leaning more towards Lords of the Fallen the more I see of this game.

I can't really believe this is the ratchet team, those games are some of the few that seem effortlessly funny and vibrantly alive this seems like the exact opposite.

Some alternatives:

Sunset NOverdrive

Suckset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrivel

GUYS, IT'S REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY, DON'T FALL FOR IT!

@impartialgecko: I think this was more of an ill-conceived crappy joke rather than trying to guide the criticism. Implying that the dev is trying to coerce critics seems a little paranoid.

@boozak: I'll trust CI Games to make a good game after they do so. Until that point I wouldn't put too much faith in a studio whose most successful franchise is the pretty bad Sniper series (the last two of which were subtitled Ghost Warrior or something like that to try and separate them from the earlier even more broken titles). Point being at their best I expect a workmanlike competence from CI Games. At their worst I'm lucky if I can get some of their games to make it to the title screen without crashing. They make Techland's games look like AAA polished masterpieces. Insomniac, meanwhile has a history of making excellent games. Even their worst games are more inspired than the best stuff put out by CI Games.

@raven10: Honestly I'd never heard of CI games before I just assumed they were a new studio but looking at their track record the odds of it being good are pretty slim.

Deck 13 isnt much better either. They do a much better job of showing off their game than Insomniac do though.

Sandtrap Overpar

@rollingzeppelin: I wasn't really implying that there was any coercion involved. It just seemed really annoying for a writer to have a game say "hey man, this joke you might be thinking of is super lame" while also being real dumb in the process.

Well that video certainly helped me make up my mind on what I think of the game. I'm going to treat it as if it has projectile leprosy and never play it. I managed to go from indifferent to completely uninterested. Hell of a marketing department they have there.

I thought this game looked great based on early previews but Jesus the personality of this game makes me want to stay far, far away with it.

The marketing and PR for this game has killed any interest I have in playing it. They are trying way to hard to be cool. And its making the game look like crap.

I was prejudiced against it in the beginning, but by the end I was shuckling. It's not bad. It's not genious, but there is honest effort put into those videos.

I am getting G4 flashbacks. This reminds me of that Cheat show they used to air.

Besides the fact that it is cringe-worthy it seems like the entire point is basically say that is a place holder video for a weekly thing they are going to do.

I'm not saying they did a good job of it or anything.

Sunset Overjumpcuts, more like it. Urgh.

@boozak: Yea if CI Games know how to do anything it is to make their crap look way better than it is. Their use of the CryEngine has helped of late. Makes for pretty pictures and videos despite their games being ugly, buggy, messes when they are actually released. And I should note that Giantbomb doesn't even list all of their games. They made something like 3 first person shooters a year between 2000 and 2010. Just an insane number of nearly identical games none of which are especially good. Mind you they aren't terrible. I've played much worse. They are just super uninspired and rote and, again, often filled with a lot of bugs.

Oh, when you wrote, "this video got me wondering whether publishers/developers are shooting themselves in the foot by telling writers how to do their job, or just ensuring writers come in with a preconceived notion about the quality of the experience they're about to have." gave me the impression that you were implying coercion.

Giant Bomb's Most Punchable Game of 2014